Gov’t Clears Funding for Salaries of Public Service Staff Recruited Before December 2024
By: Solomon Nartey Tetteh
Government has granted financial clearance for individuals recruited into the public sector in the months leading up to the 2024 General Elections to begin receiving their salaries.
Minister of Labour, Jobs and Employment, Dr. Abdul-Rashid Hassan Pelpuo, confirmed the decision in an interview with the media.
“As far as the Labour and Finance Ministries are concerned, all these persons will be paid by the government, even though they were not employed by us. They are Ghanaians,” he stated.
Dr. Pelpuo acknowledged that government was really concerned about this development, but noted that a conclusion had been reached to honour the payments.
In December 2024, the then incoming government expressed concern over last-minute public sector recruitments carried out by the NPP administration. The issue centred on the fact that the necessary financial clearance had not been sought beforehand.
A letter from the Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, directed that all public sector appointments and recruitments made after December 7, 2024, be halted due to non-compliance with good governance practices and procedures.
Dr Pelpuo defended government’s proposed 9% increase effective January 2026. He explained that the adjustment aligns with the state’s ability to pay and current economic conditions.
“Forty-seven per cent of Ghana’s revenue is set aside as total compensation for public sector workers about one million workers and this is not sustainable going forward,” he said.
According to him, relying solely on the report from the technical committee would have resulted in only a 7% increase.
“However, when we considered current developments, the figure was raised to 9%,” he added.
His remarks follow concerns from some public sector workers who believe the increase is inadequate.
Dr. Pelpuo warned that raising the minimum wage and base pay beyond 9% could create challenges for government’s ability to hire new workers in 2026.
He reaffirmed government’s commitment to improving compensation levels as the economy strengthens.
